Topless protesters march against bullfighting: First of 8 bull runs is set for Wednesday
Hey, at least these folks were smart enough to stage their protest BEFORE the running of the bulls. Lord only knows the carnage that may have ensued had PETA staged a protest DURING the running.
MADRID, Spain (AP) -- Several hundred animal rights activists -- some in their underwear, others topless -- marched through the streets of Pamplona Monday to condemn bullfighting on the eve of the Spanish city's wildly popular running of the bulls.
About 200 supporters of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals came from 15 countries to march along the same cobblestone route that bulls and daredevil humans cover every July in a series of mad dashes from a holding pen to the bullring.
The protesters had planned to run totally nude but could not because they didn't get the necessary town hall permit, the Efe news agency reported....
Isabel Gonzalez, head of an anti-bullfighting organization in Belgium, said bullfighting is cruel.
"The animals suffer, and nobody has the right to mistreat them just to stage a fiesta," she said.
She said the running of the bulls also is inhumane because runners pull the bull's tails, kick them and "the animals run in a state of panic."
As an institution, PETA's heart may be in the right place, but for too many people, PETA has cried "WOLF!" too many times to retain any credibility. I understand the need to attract attention, but the risk of being outlandish and unconventional is that people eventually tune you out. It becomes more and more difficult to attract attention, which means having to stage more outrageous and off-the-wall stunts. It becomes an endless cycle, like a dog chasing it's tail. Eventually, no one notices or cares. PETA may well have reached that point.
Generally speaking, I support PETA. I think their underlying goal of preventing cruelty to animals is both admirable and worthy of support. I do think, though, that PETA would be more successful in it's efforts if it learned to speak in the language of ordinary people. Most people seem to view PETA as a collection of air-heads and crackpots whose idea of making a point is to drop their drawers and parade around screaing in their birthday suits. Not exactly a family-friendly atmosphere, eh?
Sometimes, I think PETA is their own worst enemy. Too bad no one within the organization's leadership seems to recognize that.
